International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classification. World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) classification does not include eye cancer because it is not generally recognised to have a relationship to food, nutrition, and physical activity.

Eye cancer risk is strongly related to age and sex. Eye cancer is more common in older people, however retinoblastoma (an eye cancer subtype) occurs more frequently in children. Eye cancer is more common in males than females.

Use of ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices (e.g. sunbeds) is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a cause of eye melanoma.[1]

Uveal melanoma risk may be 2-3 times as high in occasional or frequent users of sunlamps (includes sunbeds and tanning booths), compared with never users, a case-control study showed.[2] However, evidence is mixed.[2-5]

Eye cancer risk is 30-50% higher in people with a first-degree relative with melanoma, compared with the general population, a pooled analysis showed.[1] Eye cancer risk is around 4-8 times higher in people with two or more first-degree relatives with melanoma, compared with the general population.[1]

Uveal melanoma risk is higher in people with a germline BAP1 mutation compared with those without the mutation, a meta-analysis has shown.[1] Up to 18% of BAP1 mutation carriers will develop uveal melanoma.[1]

Retinoblastoma is caused by a mutation in the RB1 gene.[1] It is a rare type of eye cancer that mainly affects children. Around 40% of retinoblastoma cases are caused by an inherited mutation in the RB1 gene.[2] Individuals with hereditary retinoblastoma are at a significantly increased risk of developing other cancers later in life, whereas those with nonhereditary retinoblastoma are not, a cohort study showed.[3]

Retinoblastoma risk is 54 times higher in children with a family history of the disease, compared with the general population, a cohort study showed.[4]

Retinoblastoma risk in children is not associated with increasing age at birth of either parent, a cohort and case-control study have shown.[4,5]

Retinoblastoma risk in children is 62% higher in children conceived through medically assisted reproduction, a meta-analysis showed.[6]

Retinoblastoma risk in children is around 2-3 times higher in children whose mother smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, compared with those whose mothers were never smokers, case-control studies have shown.[7,8] Retinoblastoma risk in children is not associated with paternal smoking before or during pregnancy.[8]

Retinoblastoma risk in children is around 4.5 times higher in children whose mother was underweight at the start of pregnancy, compared with those of a normal weight, a case-control study showed.[9] Retinoblastoma risk in children is not associated with maternal weight gain during pregnancy, a case-control study showed.[10]

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (which includes cancer and pre-cancer) risk is around 4 times higher in people infected with cutaneous subtypes of HPV, compared with those who are not infected, a meta-analysis showed.[1]

Ultraviolet (UV) emissions from welding is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a cause of eye melanoma.[1] An estimated 3% of eye cancers in males and less than 1% in females in the UK are linked to UV radiation from welding.[2]

Uveal melanoma risk is doubled in those who have ever welded, compared with those who have never welded, a meta-analysis showed.[3] This association is likely to be due to exposure to intermittent UV radiation.[3]

Cancer stats explained

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